Several tragic incidents have occurred in Lashio city recently, resulting in the loss of at least 10 lives due to explosions from homemade rockets.
According to local residents, the situation remains dire. One incident involved a rocket striking Panoat School, igniting nearby vehicles and claiming the lives of three individuals, including a young child seeking refuge at the school.
Another blast in Ward 9 took three more lives, while an elementary school was also damaged by another homemade bomb.
On July 2, a devastating bomb hit a house on Thayar Road in Ward (1), resulting in the deaths of six people, including four family members and two students from outside the town. The ongoing conflict near Lashio has prompted many locals to flee, with residents expressing fears over safety and the constant threat of bombings.
It is reported that many Lashio locals are leaving by putting up white flags on their vehicles.
“More than three days after the fighting started, many people left the city. They went with white flags on their cars. Some of them send the elderly to their close relatives,” said a resident of Lashio.
“We don't dare to stay here anymore. The main fear is the fear of homemade rockets. They were out of control, and I felt that we were no longer safe. That's why I'm going back to the central region of Myanmar, where my relatives live,” said Daw Aye, a local greengrocer.
As many residents of Lashio are leaving for other cities, the queue of vehicles waiting to cross the river by raft at the Sink-In pier on the Lashio-Mandalay Union Highway is will be as many as thousands of vehicles, estimated the residents.
“The car left Lashio at 11 am. Today, it is still at Sink-In pier. I know that it will be able to cross today in the evening. As for the cars left today, I don't know what day they will have to pass the pier. There are many cars leaving Lashio today,” Ko Myo said.
In the ongoing fighting near Lashio city, at least ten people have been killed due to the attack of homemade rockets that were fired into the city.
